2020-03-12

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Thursday, March 12, 2020

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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CLASS CANCELED 2 DAYS OFF, COURSES MOVED ONLINE AMID COVID-19 OUTBREAK

DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily

BARBARA COLLINS, CLAIRE HAO & EMMA STEIN Daily News Editors

The University of Michigan announced on Wednesday all classes on all three campuses will be held online beginning March 16 through the end of the semester, April 21, in response to the COVID-19 virus. Classes

on Thursday and Friday will be canceled. However, the University will remain open, including dorms and dining halls.

In a statement shared on Twitter, University President Mark Schlissel wrote the changes are meant to maximize the safety of the campus communities.

“To protect the health and safety of our communities and minimize the spread of

#COVID19, @UMich is making changes to classes, travel, study abroad and large events on our Ann Arbor, @UM_Dearborn and @UMFlint campuses,” Schlissel wrote.

Events expected to attract more than 100 people will also be canceled, including Honors Convocation. According to the statement, updates about plans for commencement will be

provided when more information is available.

On-campus sporting events will be limited to parents and members of the press.

The statement noted all spring study abroad programs through the University will be canceled or altered, given the severity of the outbreak. All other University international travel will also be suspended, except under rare

circumstances requiring approval.

Programs starting July 1 or later will be evaluated over the coming weeks.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic Wednesday afternoon as the virus continues to spread globally.

The move to online classes comes a day after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order

declaring a state of emergency following the diagnosis of the first two cases of the COVID-19 virus in Michigan.

In a press conference Tuesday evening, Whitmer said she declared the state of emergency to maximize efforts and to assist local governments and officials in slowing the spread of COVID-19.

See CANCELED, Page 3

1 of 2 confirmed coronavirus patients Students, Philbert being treated at Michigan Medicine removed Risk for employees and visitors remains low as individual receives treatment professors from role in isolation while situation closely monitored, according to statement from hospital worried by COVID-19 as provost Experts discuss ability ADMINISTRATION

Since late January, he has been on paid leave due to multiple sexual misconduct allegations LEAH GRAHAM, BARBARA COLLINS & EMMA STEIN

Managing News Editor & Daily News Editors

University of Michigan Provost Martin A. Philbert has been removed from his position as one of the University’s top officials, according to a statement from the University spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald. Philbert had been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 21 following multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.

The statement says University President Mark Schlissel informed Philbert of his termination in a letter on Wednesday.

“Martin A. Philbert has been removed as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Michigan,” the statement reads. “In a letter dated March 11, President Mark Schlissel informed Philbert that he had lost confidence in his ability to serve as provost based on information that has come to light so far in an investigation regarding his behavior.”

See PHILBERT, Page 3

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RESEARCH

SAYALI AMIN, CLAIRE HAO & ALEX HARRING

Managing News Editor & Daily News Editors

One of the two people confirmed to have COVID19 in the state of Michigan

by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Tuesday night is an inpatient at Michigan Medicine, according to an update from Michigan Medicine.

Whitmer declared a state of emergency Tuesday evening in

a press conference. According to Whitmer, one individual is a woman from Oakland County who has recently traveled internationally, while the other is a man in Wayne County who has a recent history of domestic travel.

Both are middle-aged.

Michigan Medicine CEO Marschall Runge said Michigan Medicine had been anticipating treating cases of COVID-19 if they occurred.

“For weeks, Michigan Medicine teams have been

preparing to care for patients infected with COVID-19 if the need arises,” Runge wrote. “Our teams will take all necessary precautions to triage patients appropriately and prevent the spread of the virus.”

In an email to The Daily, Mary Masson, Michigan Medicine director of public relations, wrote that she cannot share any further information to protect the patient’s privacy, but noted Michigan Medicine is confident it has minimized the

risk of exposure for employees and visitors.

According to the statement, the patient has been isolated and the necessary precautions are being taken. The patient is in stable condition.

“We are confident that we have used proper precautions with this patient who was carefully isolated to minimize the risk of exposure to our employees and patients,” the statement reads.

See PATIENT, Page 3 See STEM, Page 3

to respond to pandemic locally; campus confused about status of programs HANNAH MACKAY & JASMIN LEE Daily Staff Reporters

The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread to countries around the world and across the United States since its identification in Wuhan, China last December.

Yesterday, two cases of COVID19 were confirmed in the state of Michigan, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency. One of the two patients with COVID-19 in Michigan is an inpatient at Michigan Medicine.

University President Mark Schlissel announced Wednesday that all classes, beginning on Monday, will be moved online.

Classes for Thursday and Friday were canceled. Study abroad programs for spring were also discontinued. In the days prior to the announcement, students, faculty and staff waited for updates, sometimes frustrated by a lack of information.

Emily Toth Martin, associate professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health who studies virus epidemiology, said COVID-19 will likely not affect a majority of people who contract it.

FILE PHOTO/Daily Michigan Medicine has taken in one of the two patients confirmed to have COVID-19 in the state of Michigan on Tuesday night.

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INDEX

Vol. CXXIX, No. 79 ©2020 The Michigan Daily

NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A CLASSIFIEDS..............6A

See CONCERN, Page 3

SUDOKU...............6A SPORTS..................5A ARTS..............1B

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MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

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Moriah @Moriah_lewis17

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im taking my classes online getting my degree on my own time

why doesn’t @UMich have us enable two factor authentication on our bodies againt Coronavirus

Andy Reed @andykreed UMich having Euchre as an IM sport is peak Midwest

help @cherryburnettte The only good thing about today is that the person working the UMich Bell tower played “Take It Off” by Kesha

Ruchita Lodha @ Ruchitalodha Endless spring break. #COVID19 #umich

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PAULINE RAJSKI/Daily The University of Michigan club rowing team raises money for Mott’s Children’s Hospital on the Diag Wednesday afternoon.

Epidemiologist explains what we know about COVID -19 Joseph Eisenberg, chair and professor of epidemiology, talks virus VARSHA VEDAPUDI & HANNAH MACKAY Daily Staff Reporters

What is coronavirus?

Where did it start?

COVID-19 is the most recently discovered strain of coronavirus. It was first identified in humans in Wuhan, China in December of 2019. Coronaviruses, a large family of zoonotic viruses, cause infections that span a wide spectrum of severity, from common colds to more severe respiratory diseases.

Older populations or people with existing medical problems are most at risk for serious infections. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness and dry cough, however, other f lu-like symptoms can occur and in extreme cases, patients experience respiratory complications and trouble breathing. Most people can recover from a COVID-19 infection without intense treatment.

How can I avoid contracting coronavirus?

COVID-19 spreads via small droplets from the mouth and nose that are circulated through the air when infected people breathe or cough.

When an infected person coughs or exhales the droplets can be inhaled by individuals within a three-foot radius.

People can also become infected by coming into contact with surfaces — such as doorknobs and railings — that droplets land on and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes. The risk for contracting COVID-19 can be lowered by

taking precautions including washing hands frequently, avoiding contact with your face, practicing responsible respiratory hygiene, staying home when sick and avoiding others who are sick.

Is the virus in Michigan?

On March 10, two cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the state of Michigan and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency. Testing for COVID-19 is occurring at the state level for patients who are exhibiting strong symptoms of the virus and with likely exposure due to travel history.

Who should be worried about coronavirus?

COVID-19 infections in children and young adults are generally mild. It can cause serious illness in some cases, with about onefifth of infected people requiring hospital care. The demographics most at risk for contracting a serious infection as a result of COVID-19 are elderly people and those who have underlying medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or heart problems.

What should I do if I feel sick?

Individuals experiencing cough, fever or difficulty breathing should seek medical attention. People who feel sick with other symptoms should stay home from classes or work to decrease the risk of spreading any infection to others. If you feel sick it is best to practice selfisolation or social distancing and avoid public areas and transportation, minimizing

contact with other people, wearing a facemask when around others to avoid spreading droplets and practicing good hygiene such as frequent hand washing and cleaning high-touch surfaces.

What resources are available on campus right now?

As during a normal school year, Counseling and Psychological Services, housed in the Union, will continue to provide counseling and support to students. The English Language Institute and International Institute will work with international students to develop a plan for the rest of the semester if needed. University Health Service will continue providing care to students.

But if you feel sick, stay home and call UHS or your primary care physician.

What is the difference between social distancing, isolation and quarantine?

According to Joseph Eisenberg, chair and professor of epidemiology, “isolation is being three to six feet away from people so that particles being emitted won’t reach you. Quarantine means being alone and not in contact with people. Isolation is more about an ill patient being kept away from the population.”

Social distancing, on the other hand, refers to making a concerted effort to stay away from others to lower the possibility of contracting the virus. Eisenberg said all three efforts are beneficial. “All measures help slow the spread of the disease,” Eisenberg said.

Is social distancing really an effective way to stop the spread of the virus?

Eisenberg said much remains unknown about how the virus is spread.

“We don’t know a lot about the virus, we theorize it is via droplet spread,” Eisenberg said. “There are two ways this works: On an individual level, you are less likely to become sick and then on a population level, by reducing the efficiency of the spread.”

How can you tell if you have symptoms for the coronavirus or the f lu?

While they may have similar symptoms at first, coronavirus is marked by fever and coughing that has the possibility to turn into pneumonia. While a vaccine exists for the f lu and there is antiviral medication dedicated to treating the f lu, neither is available for the coronavirus at this moment since it is so new.

Are measures like washing hands and maintaining a six-foot distance really effective?

Eisenberg said these measures can help limit the spread of infectious diseases.

“Slow the spread so that even though you have the same number of cases, the peak is smaller but hospitals are less overworked, which is important because hospitals are built to capacity based on the f lu season,” Eisenberg said.

What measures should high and low-risk individuals take?

See QUESTIONS, Page 3A

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CANCELED From Page 1 “We’re taking every step that we can to mitigate the virus spread and keep Michiganders safe,” Whitmer said in the press conference.

The two diagnosed cases in Michigan include a middle-aged Oakland County woman who has recently traveled internationally and a middle-aged Wayne County man who has recently traveled domestically.

Michigan Medicine announced Wednesday morning the hospital is treating one of the two confirmed Michigan coronavirus cases.

According to the University’s webpage on COVID-19, individuals should wash their hands often with soap for 20 seconds, avoid close contact with those who are sick and to stay home when sick to prevent the spread of the virus.

Prior to the University’s decision to move classes online, universities across the state had already suspended in-person classes.

Michigan State University suspended all face-to-face classes beginning at noon today, MSU President Samuel Stanley announced in an email to MSU students this morning. Online class instruction will last until April 20.

Central Michigan University also asked students not to return to campus after spring break and announced they will be moving their classes online through March 20. CMU will make a decision on whether to continue online classes on March 19.

Wayne State University announced Wednesday afternoon it will be extending spring break until March 23 to help plan for the transition to online classes.

PHILBERT From Page 1 More than 20 women have brought forward sexual misconduct claims against the former provost. In 2009, an anonymous woman reported that Philbert had sexually harassed her.

Thomas Komorowski, a former research associate for the University who worked in Philbert’s lab at the School of Public Health in 2003, claimed in a 2004 lawsuit he was wrongfully terminated due to an inappropriate relationship between Philbert and a female researcher. Philbert denied that Komorowski was laid off due to his relationship with the female researcher and claimed Komorowski’s grant aid had run out.

The University retained an outside firm to investigate Philbert, a process that is still ongoing, according to the statement.

“Once it is complete, a determination will be made whether Philbert will be subject to proceedings to remove him from his faculty role,” the statement reads. “Meanwhile, Philbert will remain on paid administrative leave from his duties as a tenured faculty member.”

Philbert is now on paid administrative leave from his position as a tenured professor of toxicology in the School of Public Health. As Public Health Dean, Philbert earned $463,696 in 2016.

In the statement, Schlissel said the investigation is still underway, with resources provided to those affected.

“As the investigation continues, we encourage anyone with information to come forward and we encourage anyone affected by this issue to use the confidential counseling

Other universities across the United States have called off in-person classes this week, including Harvard University and Ohio State University.

As classes have been canceled across the country, some on social media have noted the sudden requests for students to leave campus may be harder to adjust to for students who may rely on university housing or meal plans. Additionally, they said some students may depend on work-study as a source of income.

Others have noted students may not be able to go home because of transportation costs or travel restrictions, or because coronavirus may be more widespread in that location.

Before the University announced the cancellation of classes, students on campus began creating a spreadsheet of resources to help students who may be disproportionately impacted by the changes.

Michigan Dining sent an email to MDining employees Wednesday afternoon letting students know they plan to continue having food available.

The email stated MDining is increasing their sanitation processes – including the back of the house and some spaces leading up to the dining hall.

Additionally, greeters are no longer swiping M-Cards and students swipe their own.

Symptoms of coronavirus include fever, cough and shortness of breath. To stop the spread of the virus, the Centers for Disease Control recommend people wash their hands often and avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth.

Daily News Editor Barbara Collins can be reached at bcolli@umich.edu.

Daily News Editor Claire Hao can be reached at cmhao@umich. edu. Daily News Editor Emma Stein can be reached at enstein@umich.edu.

resources we have set up,” Schlissel said.

As provost, Philbert was the highest-ranking University administrator after Schlissel.

Philbert earned about $570,000 a year in his position, where he also acted as the top academic officer and chief budgetary officer.

Susan M. Collins, former dean of the Ford School of Public Policy, was named acting provost in late January.

Schlissel now plans to recommend Collins serve as interim provost at the Board of Regents meeting on March 26.

Philbert was approved as provost in June 2017, assuming the office in September of that year.

Before that, he served as dean of the School of Public Health.

Last fall, Philbert played a role in the formation of a faculty group to consider amending the bylaws regarding the dismissal of tenured faculty. In October 2019, he met with the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs after the firing of Music, Theater & Dance professor David Daniels for allegations of sexual misconduct and discussed amendments to policies governing the removal process.

“We have to be very careful and thoughtful, and quickly amend the bylaws to protect tenure and to protect our faculty and to protect society from the bad behavior that is frequently in the headlines,” Philbert said at the meeting.

Managing News Editor Leah Graham can be reached at leahgra@michigandaily. com. Daily News Editors Barbara Collins and Emma Stein can be reached at bcolli@michigandaily.com and enstein@michigandaily. com.

CONCERN From Page 1 The main concern, according to Martin, is containing its rapid spread.

“Most people that get this virus aren’t going to be severely ill,” Martin said.

“When you’ve got a new virus that’s potentially going to affect large numbers of people, what you want to do is try to slow things down as much as possible, and a good way to do that is to stop people from congregating in big groups. The University could do a whole lot by being as f lexible as possible with allowing students to recover from at home when they’re sick.”

Sue Anne Bell, assistant professor at the School of Nursing and a specialist in the effects of health disasters, added that COVID-19’s effect on the young, healthy demographic is minimal while the risk for elderly populations or those with chronic diseases is much greater.

“For people that have no significant health issues, young adults who are healthy in general, and also in children, there have been fairly low rates of serious complications,” Bell said.

“The bigger issue is that, while a college-age student might contract the virus, it’s the spreading of the virus to other groups of people who have those chronic diseases, or an older population where they’re much more susceptible to some of those serious effects.”

Sandro Cinti, professor of infectious disease at Michigan Medicine who is involved in preparations for emerging infectious diseases, commented on the misconceptions he has encountered in comparison to the reality of the virus.

“I know a lot of people have visions of many people dying and being in the hospital, but very likely most people will be fine, they won’t ever have to even go to the doctor,” Cinti said. “It’s a disease that we need to pay attention to, but generally, people will do pretty well even if they get infected with it, and there are no treatments and there’s no vaccine at this time, so it’s really all about community mitigation.”

Cinti explained some of the measures that Michigan Medicine is taking to prepare for COVID-19 patients and how they plan to keep other patients safe.

“We’re looking at how we’re going to manage patients within the hospital, where we’re going to put patients, where we would cohort patients, putting them in certain parts of the hospital where they will be so they wouldn’t be exposed to other patients,” Cinti said. “There’s only limited testing right now.

PATIENT From Page 1 The statement said the risk is low for employees and visitors, regardless of proximity to where the patient is located or whether individuals have been in the hospital recently.

The statement noted risk is considered high for those without protective equipment with prolonged exposure to someone with symptoms.

Additionally, the statement noted Michigan Medicine is monitoring the “rapidly

QUESTIONS From Page 2 According to Eisenberg, “high-risk individuals should be more careful with social distancing. It is critical that they not be around big crowds.”

For lower-risk people, Eisenberg said, they “probably won’t have a major illness but they can contribute to the transmission. Even

Thursday, March 12, 2020 — 3

So if somebody wants to come in and get a test, they won’t be able to get it … unless they have symptoms and a very positive screen for having been exposed to Coronavirus.”

With the apparent minimal threat to a young and healthy demographic and the high potential for spread to higher risk populations, University epidemiologists and health care professionals said the best courses of large scale action against COVID-19 are collective efforts to lower community’s health risks.

Arnold Monto, the Thomas Francis Collegiate Professor of Epidemiolog y at the School of Public Health and an international expert on transmission prevention, said in similar f lu outbreaks, pharmaceutical resources have been available but are lacking in the current situation.

“What is really most pertinent in terms of what’s going on now is the attention on what are called non pharmaceutical interventions because the three pillars of response to a f lu pandemic were antivirals, vaccines and non-pharmaceutical intervention,” Monto said.

“We don’t have two of the pillars for COVID-19.”

With the evident necessity for non-pharmaceutical intervention, Bell proposed taking the idea of serious social distancing within the University community as opposed to mass quarantines.

“I think we have to move from this idea of these large scale quarantines to thinking about social distancing,” Bell said. “We don’t have the systems in place to just f lip a switch and turn to an online class or cancel classes, but when it boils down to it, promoting and preserving the health of our community might be the more important thing to think about than missing class.”

In the past week, multiple universities across the country have canceled in-person classes in response to the virus, including Harvard University and Ohio State University. Many professors at the University have said they are preparing to move classes online in the event that the administration instructs them to do so.

STAMPS Professor Susan Funkenstein has already moved her ARTDES 151 class online for a period of two weeks after being asked to explore alternative lecture delivery modes.

Brad Smith, associate dean for academic programs at the Stamps School of Art & Design, wrote about efforts the school was making to determine the best way to continue the

semester when classes moved online in an email to The Daily.

“Like the rest of the University, the Stamps School of Art & Design is taking a look at our current course offerings and evaluating alternative modes of delivery should the need arise,” Smith wrote.

“As part of this exploration and at the request of our Dean, Guna Nadarajan, two Stamps lecturers, Susan Funkenstein and Melanie Manos, were asked to explore alternative modes of course delivery for the lecture component of their courses.”

Smith also addressed how University administration had instructed faculty to proceed with planning in the event that in person classes are not permitted to meet.

“University administration has been asking units to consider how we might deliver classes to students under conditions where students or faculty might not be able to attend in person, in order to be prepared for a range of conditions,” Smith wrote. “For students who are currently selfquarantining or ill: faculty at Stamps are ready to provide accommodations.

This is being addressed on a 1-1 basis.”

Students discussed varying views on COVID-19 with The Daily, specifically regarding the health risks it poses to campus and the necessity for either school closure or online classes instead of in-person meetings.

LSA sophomore Ryan Fisher, secretary of the University’s chapter of College Republicans, sent an email out to the organization Sunday night dismissing concerns that coronavirus is the “end of the world.”

“Also, don’t worry so much about the Coronavirus: the idea that this is the end of the world is FAKE NEWS! It’s a virus, not far removed from normal f lu,” Fisher’s email reads.

“Even if you get the virus, if your immune system is half-functional, then you’d likely survive regardless.

Don’t fall for the HOAX of world destruction. Literally wash your hands and stay home if you’re sick. Easy.”

LSA freshman Nick Schuler, spokesman for College Republicans, told The Daily the statement was referencing the panic that the media is portraying about the coronavirus.

“Ryan said ‘the idea that Coronavirus is the end of the world is fake news!’

This is in reference to the hyperbolic fearmongering done by the media that has inspired nothing but panic, making matters worse,” Schuler said. “He also points out that the survival

rate is very high for those with functioning immune systems, also true. We feel that the school has created a culture of fear around the virus rather than one of understanding and that the outlook for the virus is much better than the doomsday narrative being put out by alarmists.”

On Tuesday, it was announced that an EECS 280 midterm exam initially scheduled for Wednesday will now be online as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19.

LSA freshman Hadley Samarco, who is enrolled in EECS 280, said there was a lot of backlash to this decision and gave her personal reaction to the change.

“There is a lot of confusion and backlash right now, because originally you were supposed to still abide to just having a note sheet and not cheating, and there was a lot of concern as to how that’ll work,” Samarco said.

“I appreciate the concern, but I think it’s more trouble than it’s worth.”

LSA freshman Deanna Dwyer said she thinks the University’s emails about COVID-19 have been a good way to stay informed and that while certain professors are changing their attendance policies, she does not wish to take online classes.

“I would be really upset if we have to go to online classes, just because I feel like clubs would have to stop meeting then too,” Dwyer said. “And not everyone has access to computers and this could really affect those who are not as economically stable.”

In an effort to keep campus healthy for community members who are not selfisolating, the department of Environment, Health & Safety and Custodial & Grounds Services are expanding their efforts to clean heav y-trafficked areas.

Danielle Sheen, executive director of EHS, explained the precautions EHS and the Custodial and Grounds Services are taking to sanitize buildings at the University in an email to The Daily.“For main campus buildings served

by Custodial and Grounds Services, they have been increasing their frequency of cleaning of the high touch point surfaces,” Sheen wrote. “Dorm rooms are cleaned by students, but common areas in dorms are cleaned by Housing Custodial Staff.

They ramped up their efforts for cleaning as well with the return of students from Spring Break.”

Reporter Jasmin Lee can be reached at itsshlee@ umich.edu. Reporter Hannah Mackay can be reached at mackayh@umich.edu.

evolving” situation with state and local public health officials. Michigan Medicine has been monitoring the supply of “crucial” items such as masks, hand sanitizer and other protective equipment and has been placing orders for additional quantities, the statement said.

In an email sent to Michigan Medicine volunteers Wednesday afternoon, Loulie Meynard, Volunteer Services director, advised volunteers not to come in for their scheduled shifts and all absences

starting from March 8 will not be counted in volunteers’ records.

While Meynard said Michigan Medicine is not saying volunteers may not come in, she noted that directive is expected to come soon.

On Wednesday afternoon, University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel announced a two-day cancellation of classes. On Monday, classes will resume online until the end of the semester.

Spring study abroad programs have been canceled.

Michigan State University announced Wednesday morning that all in-person classes will be moved online through April 20. With the move, MSU joined schools including Harvard University, Indiana University and the University of Toledo who have altered in-person education in response to COVID-19.

Managing News Editor Sayali Amin can be reached at sayalia@umich.edu. Daily News Editors Claire Hao and Alex Harring can be reached at cmhao@umich.edu and harring@umich.edu.

though students aren’t highrisk they would be effective in its transmission. So for example, if you’re traveling a lot you might not want to visit your 85-year-old grandma.”

How can we learn from other affected countries?

Eisenberg said South Korea, where strict isolation and social distancing measures were taken to prevent infection, provides an example of the path the U.S. should take in slowing

the spread of the virus.

“If we can prevent it from being too accelerated we can prevent widespread transmission,” Eisenberg said. “We want to look more like South Korea and less like Italy. Especially now in this critical time period, where cases are just emerging, we don’t wanna overwhelm the hospitals and really unroll widespread testing: identify the clusters faster and then it’s a bit more targeted.”

Is there a time period for how long the virus will continue to spread?

The answer is still unclear.

“It won’t be surprising if it is seasonal like other coronaviruses, but this is a unique, emerging pathogen and we are still unsure,” Eisenberg said.

Reporters Hannah Mackay and Varsha Vedapudi can be reached at mackayh@umich. edu and varshakv@umich. edu.

Opinion

4 — Thursday, March 12, 2020

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CAMILLA MUNACO | COLUMN

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JESSICA D’AGOSTINO | COLUMN

H

Stop the #grind, get some sleep

ere I am, typing this column far too close to its deadline, at 12:38 a.m. There are numerous tabs open on my laptop including Amazon, the political science midterm study guide I finished at ungodly hours the previous night and the Expedia tab for the f light at the end of the tunnel of this hellish exam week. I am, as most students would call it, #grinding.

Here at the University of Michigan, the collegiate societal pressure to “grind” our work out offsets a life balance disproportionately focused on social media engagement and party culture. As I currently partake in this social scheme, I am in no position to speak down to the other members of this community of grind worshippers.

The large iced coffee condensing on the Shapiro Undergraduate Library table beside me and I have both endured many latenight study sessions. However, I’ve begun to wonder: When did working hard come to mean procrastination and cramming? Hard work was once attributed to committing to a particular task or challenge and exerting some sort of mental, physical or emotional effort toward a goal.

Now, I associate hard work with bloodshot eyes at 3 a.m. in the South Quad Residence Hall study lounge.

While hard work is integral to success, this stressful lifestyle is disorganized and reinforces unhealthy concepts of time management. It is not cool to be exhausted. It doesn’t make you more accomplished to have slept four hours less than the human body craves.

Yet in top-tier academia, we exert so much effort into both work and play and often fail to efficiently organize this time to allow for the maximum amount of productivity and therefore, the maximum quality of life. During the prime grind of midterms in the UGLi, why are so many phones scrolling through TikTok instead of actually studying? This inclination to grind has spawned a culture where students’ schedules become a hodgepodge of overlapping engagements.

This disorganized chaos of scheduling is a major factor in reduced sleep and significantly reduced productivity. I have met two kinds of people in college: People who, like me, do not sleep and run on copious amounts of caffeine and people who take naps throughout their day. Neither of these groups enjoys the recommended eight hours of sleep allotted at nighttime,

and instead, make use of alternative methods to get by.

Perhaps instead of studying when we should be sleeping, sleeping when we should be socializing and socializing when we should be studying, we could acknowledge our faults and better manage our bustling schedules.

Work smarter, not harder.

It seems the true antagonist in this story is distraction.

According to Forbes writer Cheryl Conner, “a survey revealed sixty-four percent of employees visit non-work related websites every day of the week.” As people in the 21st century, we are drawn to our phones more than ever.

We lose track of time and suddenly the three hours we had planned to study for our exam or write our Michigan Daily columns were wasted scrolling through the endless cybersphere of constantlyupdating information. If the phone had been neglected for those three hours, then maybe we could spend time before bed engaging in social activities instead of accomplishing previouslyscheduled tasks at the hours meant for sleeping.

How do we fix this? When I say “we,” I genuinely mean that. I am both g uilty and outspoken about what at this point seems like an allerg y to an adequate night’s sleep and a relaxing day. I’ve realized that, despite my endless efforts to color code and plan my life, the tendency for my phone-usage study break almost always expands beyond the five or 10-minute limit I try to establish.

The idea of organizing time through schedule compartmentalization, though not fool-proof, is useful in more ways than one. There is psychological research that shows the benefits of checking off tasks titled the “Zeigarnik Effect.” By simply writing these plans down as minute missions instead of daunting obstacles, accomplishing our goals becomes less anxietyridden and overwhelming.

The caveat, of course, is that the number of remaining tasks on our lifelong to-do list can further impact

anxiety and result in more procrastination.

Harry Guinness of The New York Times offers an instructional g uide for how “A (Former) Night Owl” can become a “Morning Person.”

Guinness describes how any person can adapt their sleep and life schedule to increase productivity and align with a better “chronotype,” or individual interpretation of circadian rhythm. What is important to clarif y is that this isn’t all about sleeping more. There are plenty of people who sleep eight, nine or even 10 hours and still waste large amounts of time throughout their day dawdling on social media sites instead of working through their daily tasks.

Beyond allowing your body to rest at appropriate times, you need to encourage and challenge yourself to stick to an efficient regiment throughout the day; pencil in a time for leisure, exercise and work or school goals.

Just doing one or the other perpetuates imbalance.

A mantra I came to appreciate more upon starting my freshman year at the University is “work smarter, not harder.” It is irrefutable that the students at this school, not unlike other schools, are dedicated to their work and seek to get the best education possible for the tuition they are paying to study here. However, Forbes writer Julian Mitchell suggests it’s time to stop the grind, and instead learn to hustle. The difference, Mitchell writes, is that while both are qualified and in possession of equal capabilities, grinders “move at a fast pace, juggle multiple tasks” and “can work tirelessly and see no return.” Conversely, “hustlers put effort into existing opportunities” and “know what it really takes to achieve the seemingly impossible.”

Nobody I have met thus far, and undoubtedly very few people in general, have truly mastered a perfectly planned life balance of work, sleep, exercise and fun. But I’d like to put more effort into trying, and I encourage you to do the same.

I’d like to know that the hard work we are all exerting is being utilized efficiently. There will always be time for spontaneity and moments that will never have a key on your color code, but for one week, try and be more cognizant of the time you dedicate to different sectors of your life.

Take out your AirPods, grab your highlighters and find a better way to hustle.

Jessica D’Agostina can be reached at jessdag@umich.edu.

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.

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Discrimination within the Academy

he Oscars 2020 reminded me all too well of the feeling you have when your grandma gives you a strange scarf for your birthday.

It’s not what you wanted, but the gesture was nice. All you can do is hope that next year gets better, right?

While there have been a lot of loud, feminist moments, the Oscars ultimately continue to snuff women out of many categories, most notably “Best Director.” After 92 years, only five women have been nominated for the category and only one, Kathryn Bigelow, has won. Greta Gerwig, who is one of these five women, did not receive a nomination for her Best Picture nominated movie, “Little Women,” at the Oscars 2020. This was disappointing, but not shocking. She and many other creative female directors, such as Lulu Wang and Lorene Scafaria, were shut out from the Academy’s nomination this year, following suit with the majority of previous Oscars. The most vocalized discrepancy with the Oscars nominations lies with the Best Director category — but the prioritization of men does not stop there.

It’s not surprising that, in general, the majority of movies nominated for Best Picture have male-centered themes and storylines. Nominees for this year, such as “1917,” “The Irishman,” “Ford v Ferrari” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” follow suit as the central ideas (war, cars, the mafia and Quentin Tarantino) are all male-dominated. Of the 92 Best Picture winners, only 14 winners have a story that follows a female lead. The Oscar nominations often portray the subconscious values of viewers and the sexist limitations in Hollywood. It’s not that movies such as “The Irishman” or “Ford

v Ferrari” weren’t noteworthy, but it’s important to recognize their advantage over movies like “Little Women” due to the fact that they follow the normative style of a “winning” movie: male-based with male leads.

Without knowing the plot, the sole fact of having a female lead makes it a “girl” movie.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Amy Pascal, producer of “Little Women,” discussed the lack of male presence in the public screenings of “Little Women.”

“I don’t think that (men) came to the screenings in droves, let me put it that way,” Pascal said. “...and I’m not sure when they got their DVDs that they watched them.” Obviously, this was disconcerting considering a majority of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voting membership is held by men, with only 32 percent of the members being women in 2019. “It’s a different bias,” Pascal said. “(Voters think), these kinds of stories are important to me, and these kinds of stories are less important to me.” From this, it’s important to note how the gender reference within the title “Little Women” alone would discourage a male audience.

Instead of being viewed solely as a good movie, the gender reference in “Little Women” transforms it into a “girl” movie.

For most movies, without knowing the plot, the sole fact of having a female lead makes

it a “girl” movie. Typically, when a movie has a male lead, it is not labeled a “boy” movie.

It is simply a movie. The distinction between movies and “girl” movies originates from centuries of patriarchal influence and suppression of female cultural works. I know I can resonate with stories told by men about men, so to my male counterparts who refuse to see movies like “Little Women” because they are “girly,” I urge you to give it a try. At heart, all these movies are stories about people, not just women or men, and the human experience — despite our differences — is something we can all relate to.

Despite the lack of recognition women received with regard to the awards, the Oscars desperately tried to display their support of women and feminist movements.

From Brie Larson, Gal Gadot and Sigourney Weaver declaring that “all women are superheroes” to the first female conductor leading the Oscars orchestra for the Best Original Score segment, the Oscars seemed to be all about women. While the gestures were appreciated, recognizing women are talented isn’t the same as rewarding women for their talent. Instead of just recognizing that women aren’t nominated for Best Director, maybe it’s time to call out the social and systematic reasons for this and directly challenge the Academy’s decisions. This is not to diminish many beautiful moments that occurred, such as Hildur Guðnadóttir’s acceptance speech or Natalie Portman’s homage to female directors, but only to encourage further progress and not to forget the work that needs to be done.

Camilla Munaco can be reached at cmunaco@umich.edu.

KEITH JOHNSTONE | COLUMN

O

The dating game — playing to win

n Jan. 12, 2020, I rejoined the ranks of being single, or in the words of my roommate, I got remarried to the game.

I was single for most of freshman year, so I thought I was well acquainted with my new life; but, when I started dating again, everything felt different. Soon, I realized that the game itself had not changed, but I had. See, for the last year, dating was no game to me because I was in love with my girlfriend. But now I found myself in the starting lineup of a game I no longer understood.

In the dating game, we devalue people and reduce them to numbers; we rate them on a scale of one to 10; we constantly brag about our hookups to mask our feelings; we swipe on Tinder because we’re bored. Talking to friends, I am constantly astonished by the numbers they casually mention. 238 Tinder matches. 12 bodies.

23 Snapchats. Of those three people, they have collectively been on two dates and in no relationships over the last six months. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am in no position to slut shame anyone. I’m not even looking for a relationship right now, but I am looking for something beyond the meaningless games we’re playing. To transcend the games and make dating work again, we must address a couple of core issues.

Problem 1: Single people are too selfish.

Every Thursday, I wake up at about 9:45 a.m., just in time to sprint to my 10 a.m. I put in my headphones and don’t open my mouth until I need participation points. I attend classes until 4 p.m. and, after napping, either go to Hatcher to do homework or hang out with my friends. Wash, rinse, repeat. We all get caught up in these vicious cycles of routines because they’re comfortable and, in many ways, necessary. However, this conventional routine is f lawed because it revolves entirely around one person.

While monotonous at times, our routines bestow upon us

the curse of independence before our minds have fully developed. We grow up so self-reliant and self-conscious that we inevitably become self-centered and run the risk of becoming egotistical. Thus, when we venture to date — whether casual or serious — we struggle with empathy, which allows us to justif y mistreating others or makes us oblivious altogether.

This phenomenon influences the decisions we make when pursuing potential partners because many of us are simply too self-conscious to talk to new people — except on Tinder, which I’ll address later. Instead, we prefer to stay confined in our social circles, which consolidates the dating pool considerably. In fact, Engineering senior Arjun Lama encapsulated it perfectly when he said: “I go to Rick’s, but no one meets people there.

If you go up to someone, then, all of a sudden, you’re weird.”

Now, this is where I draw a line.

If there’s a social stigma against talking to people in a bar, we have officially gone too far. In order to expand our horizons, our generation needs to be bolder and reshape the dating landscape. Go talk to that cute girl in your biolog y class.

Go sit with that hot g uy in the dining hall. The world won’t shatter. The worst thing they can say is no.

Problem 2: Single people are too fake.

Have you ever looked at someone on Instagram after you met them in real life, but you didn’t recognize them at all? Today, we have this image that everyone should put forward a perfect face online. We need to look our best or people won’t put forth the effort to learn the person underneath the looks. Enter, Tinder.

Everyone who has told you that looks don’t matter is either someone hot, lying to themselves or someone who is not on Tinder. Looks aren’t insignificant, but they’re definitely not the most important thing. In person, you can overwhelm someone with your charm and bravado while Tinder’s main form of

currency is ab muscles. Now, Tinder has some redeeming qualities like their bio section, Spotif y preferences and the post-match messaging process. However, in order to get to the best parts of the app, people deem your attraction worthy of their attention. That’s what I call a f lawed process.

If you want to cut through the noise, you can, but it’s exceedingly difficult when you only meet people through Tinder or through friends.

Much like the previous problem, the solution is to get outside of the ordinary and meet some strangers.

No matter what you’re looking for, you’ll probably find someone better in real life than you ever could on Tinder, and that is the point.

June 14, 2018: During orientation, I was on a bus talking with a friend about fantasy football when the bus came to a screeching halt and I fell forward into the girl in front of me. While I was profusely apologizing, she turned around and I noticed her piercing green eyes and dirty blonde hair. She said, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it. By the way, I’m Morgan.”

I spent the rest of the night talking to the charming stranger, going back to East Quad and then to Bubble Island. Right before we left Bubble Island, I heard a thunderclap and saw a torrential downpour outside.

I took her hand and we ran out. In the middle of that summer storm, I spun her around and we kissed. That’s why I talk to strangers.

At the end of the day, dating isn’t that complex. It’s just two people who want to be noticed, to be seen and accepted for who they truly are. Whether it is for one night or a lifetime, the rush in your head, the f luttering of your heart and the tingling of your skin make you feel alive.

Those things make you want to step out of your bubble, stop being selfish and care for someone else.

Keith Johnstone can be reached at keithja@umich.edu.

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Thursday, March 12, 2020 — 5

FILM REVIEW

‘The Invisible Man’ is more fact than horror flick making the story feel truly real.

Writer-director Leigh Whannell (“Upgrade”) Daily Arts Writer throws the viewer into Cecilia’s situation with razor sharp efficiency. The grungy, gray-soaked cinematography turns even the sunniest of days into Make no mistake — “The Invisible Man” is a true something terrifying, making viewers wonder what story. When one considers its source material, an 1897 lurks in every shadow. Sometimes the camera lingers novel by H.G. Wells, this sounds like a wild claim. on stillness, like a rack of knives or sheets in a dark After all, nobody (that we know of) can become bedroom, leaving the viewer waiting, breathless, like invisible, even centuries after Cecilia. Waiting for what they know the original book was published. is coming but can’t possibly see until Yet, this 2020 remake, which at it’s too late.

The soundtrack crawls deep first glance appears to be another under one’s skin and stays there, desperate Hollywood cash-grab, is more true to life than most other coloring the visible horrors with offerings at the movies today. stomach-churning blasts of unnerving synth. The script oozes While the particulars of what Dir. Leigh Whannell with hand-wringing tension that Cecilia, played by Elizabeth Moss Feb. 28, 2020 (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), endures never lets up, providing gut punch are science fiction, they are simply twists that blast the story forward AMC 20+IMAX, imaginative means to a very real end. even when it already seems to be Quality 16 hurtling at an impossibly high Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, “The speed. Moss, as always, gives an Haunting of Hill House”), a wealthy inventor and Cecilia’s abusive immaculate performance that has ex-husband, is so inflamed by Cecilia one’s sympathies from the very start, ratcheting up the tension in leaving him that he terrorizes her by turning invisible. The invisibility is fantasy, but every possible moment. For most other actors, a Adrian’s arrogance, emotional manipulation and scene where a character is beaten up by an invisible violence, which come from a deep, white-male man would be awkward at best, hilarious at worst. privilege, are anything but. This gives the movie’s In Moss’s hands, it is one of the scariest, most heartalready well-made scares a core of indelible truth, wrenching scenes in recent memory. “The Invisible ANDREW WARRICK

“The Invisible Man”

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Man” is no haunted house attraction, and you will be sickened, afraid and exhausted once it’s over.

Horror this stupendous does not come around often. The movie is not for the faint of heart, but should be seen by anyone who can stomach it. It’s especially satisfying once Cecilia fights back, giving viewers a look at something that rarely happens offscreen — a rich, white, male predator brought to justice. From film directors to the Commander in Chief, many of these abusers stay invisible even when their crimes are in plain sight, hidden behind their privilege. Others are only unmasked after

vast swaths of damage have already occurred and, because of their status, can stay relatively invisible, unscathed by the harsh justice they deserve. It’s satisfying to see one of these monsters put through the wringer, even if only on the silver screen.

“The Invisible Man” is a marathon of scares and heart, proving, like “Get Out,” “The Babadook” and “The Witch” before it, that horror can be one of the most meaningful, optimistic and authentic genres. It also may be the most vital — even in 2020, America still needs to learn that the monster never, ever should get away with it.

ALBUM REVIEW

New ‘Saturn Return’ is an ode to womankind MADELEINE VIRGINIA GANNON Daily Arts Writer

What does it mean to be a woman? Statistics, the media, society –– many of them would answer that womanhood lies in the gender wage gap, the tampon tax, abortion rights; the drawn out Harvey Weinstein legal battle or the #MeToo movement; in the Kardashian empire, Ladies Night at the local bar, or TikTok videos of preteen VSCO girls; broken stilettos, a Brazilian body wax, fake eyelashes. At least, these are the superficial labels that dog the steps of womanhood.

More often, womanhood is understood only in contrast to the patriarchy. Womanhood is a battle –– armor worn from girl-hood until death, triumphantly painted in the colors of the conquest of man. Yet even here, in the fiery protest against gender-conforming shackles, there is no woman without man. Let us rewrite the question: What does it mean to be a woman in spite of man?

An answer (by no means the only one) can be found within the heart of The Secret Sisters’ new album, Saturn Return. The Secret Sisters have written an ode to womankind; a dedication to womanly mind, body and heart. It is an album

which finds its truth in the contrasting sharp edges and soft curves of womanhood. Here, man is irrelevant, obsolete. He is not torn down or ravaged in fury –– these are not the songs of a battle waged against patriarchy. Rather, man holds no place in Saturn Return because these are stories of women, of womanhood, not of mankind or masculinity.

To be “Woman” –– Saturn Return explores this independently of patriarchal contrast, in its own basking glory.

Saturn Return can be broken down into four parts, four core songs that make up The Secret Sisters exploration of Woman: “Silver,” “Fair,” “Nowhere, Baby,” and “Water Witch.” Each song presents a different aspect of womanhood, examined and experienced in the context and lens of women alone.

“Silver” is a dedication to the relationships between mothers and daughters. It is womanhood defined by motherhood, but confined to the special bond between women, and not the limitations of marriage or patriarchal oppression. The only song on the album that prominently recalls the country roots of previous work by The Secret Sisters, “Silver” is comforting and a touch haunting. The harmony of the duo’s voices holds something ancient within as the pair recalls the memories of those women who came before: “Look upon your mother and the silver in her hair / Consider it a crown the holiest

may wear.” The song makes a point to acknowledge the sacrifices and abundant strength of mothers who have raised us, who have created the world we know by giving and nurturing life. “Silver,” the first song on the album, sets the tone of Saturn Return with its poetry and mix of ancient sentiment in a modern package. “Last night in my slumber came the matriarchs I miss / They said, ‘Do you wanna be anointed with age’s lasting kiss?’” The silver hair of years spent in motherly toil is a badge of honor. Here, the Secret Sisters find a little-uttered truth: That motherhood is a mark of the unyielding strength and devotion of womanhood. It does not have to be a mark of oppression, as it has been and can certainly be. Motherhood is more than childbearing –– it is the eternal connection between mother and daughter, and every ancestor and descendent stemming from them.

“One is given wings and one gets more than she can bear / God in Heaven, can you tell me how that’s fair?” In the song “Fair,” The Secret Sisters weave a story of the lives of two very different women.

Through circumstance, one lives a life of ease –– of good choices –– and the other a life of hard choices. They are united in their womanhood, their respective difficulties, despite the opposition of their paths. Here, again, men are absent from the narrative. One might guess that in the background

lies the patriarchal system that has led to “frownin’ from the pages of hard times,” but there is no nefarious villain to conquer. There is simply life to be lived, in all its beautiful and terrible simplicity.

What is most enduring, however, is the evident love between these two unnamed women. Their friendship does not seem tangible, but rather their affection is bound in the solidarity of their identities of shared womanhood.

“Nowhere, Baby” is a short breath of fresh air.

The Secret Sisters do lonesome journeys and somber ballads so well, but “Nowhere, Baby” takes a chance to celebrate self-validation and victory. “And it’s time I showed myself exactly what I am made of / And that’s not a cop out, not a dream drop, not a ‘close, but no cigar’”: Self-doubt is banished to embrace inner strength, courage, and determination. A tale of a woman who spent a lifetime climbing “nowhere,” it is hopeful rather than deprecating. Moreover, it is a universal narrative: Life and time gets away from us, and suddenly we’re stranded too far from the starting line to go back, and the finish line too far away to grasp. Womanhood is life –– yes, it can be unique, but The Secret Sisters do not shy away from normalizing shared narratives.

SINGLE REVIEW

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MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW

REPUBLIC

COLUMBIA

The Dixie Chicks burn In new music video, Taylor bright in single ‘Gaslighter’ Swift becomes ‘The Man’ KATIE BEEKMAN Daily Arts Writer

Badmouthed, banned and ultimately blacklisted for their unwavering antiwar sentiment in 2003, the Dixie Chicks are battletested. After a 14-year hiatus, the ex-country music superstars have proven they’re ready to go another round with the fiery single “Gaslighter.”

A “gaslighter” describes a manipulative abuser. In the song “Gaslighter,” this abuser is lead singer Natalie Maines’s ex-husband. By linking the narrative of Maines’s divorce to the broader context of sexism,

the Dixie Chicks retain their commitment to being political in a form that’s easier to swallow — a break-up song. “Tried to say I’m crazy, babe, we know I’m not crazy, that’s you / gaslighting,” Maines sings in disgust. In a moment stripped of production, she quietly admits “you broke me,” giving light to the hurt beneath her anger.

The rest of the song is explosive.

Co-written and co-produced by pop whiz Jack Antonoff, “Gaslighter” is expectedly catchy.

“Gaslighter, denier / doing anything to get your ass farther” is chanted along to pounding, building drums. Antonoff’s hand in the track along with the rest of the upcoming album is probably a major red flag to any old-school

Who knows who the Dixie Chicks will burn down next

Dixie Chicks fan. But the richness of the group’s harmonies and the prominent use of banjo in the lead single should put those fears to rest, at least temporarily.

For now, all there’s left to do is count down the days until May 1st, the album release date, and shout along to “Gaslighter.” Who knows who or what the Dixie Chicks are going to burn down next?

“Gaslighter” The Dixie Chicks Republic

KAITLYN FOX Daily Arts Writer

Just last year, Taylor Swift returned to her roots as the f lowery, love-struck songwriter with her single “Lover” and gave us an album that sharply contrasted the pointed rage from her 2017 album Reputation. Last week Swift released a music video for “The Man,” a song off her latest album, and returned to her targeting metaphors and sometimes not-so-subtle accusations.

“The Man” features Swift in full drag as she portrays toxic masculinity and takes on the role of ‘The Man.’ She’s loud and rude, yells at coworkers and gets rewarded for doing next to nothing.

Through these brief incidents,

Swift pokes fun at what she considers to be masculine norms and highlights the double standard women face by turning the tables.

Not surprisingly, Swift notso-subtly calls out Scooter Braun, the man who bought all of her masters and essentially wiped Swift of the rights to her own music. In the video, Swift walks through a subway and comes across a wall spraypainted with the names of all of her albums that Scooter owns. On top of that, Swift incorporated signs onto the wall that read “Missing: If Found Return to Taylor Swift” and even a “no scooters” sign.

It’s no secret that women in music face many obstacles, and Swift has clearly had enough with the misog ynistic nature of the music industry.

While her portrayal of men seems a bit dramatic and perhaps even unfair, the final

scene where Swift is revealed as the director of the video is empowering and the most powerful part of the video.

In truth, Swift doesn’t need to aggressively attack the male population to defy the patriarchy — she just needs to be herself and be an example for other women through all of the great things she’s done.

“The Man” Taylor Swift Dir. Taylor Swift Republic

Arts

6 — Thursday, March 12, 2020

TV REVIEW

‘Babylon Berlin’ issues a dire warning to the U.S. JOSHUA THOMAS Daily Arts Writer

It’s finally happening. Americans at large are starting to realize that not all good television and cinema has to be in the English language. In this peculiar moment of our history, critics and audience members are finally starting to give notice to ”Babylon Berlin.”

The show is a proper mystery noir in all the right ways. “Babylon Berlin” centers on the gruff, witty Gereon Rath (Volker Brunch, “Jerks”), a male detective who tries to navigate the gritty world of Berlin during the Weimar Era. With his accomplice, Charlotte Ritter (Liv Lisa Fries, “Prélude”), the two fight to bring the city’s most insidious murderers to justice. Their misadventures often put them in the crossfire between the Underworld and the Communists, and directly in the path of Nazis, who are trying to bring down the democratic government.

Season three mainly focuses on the death of Betty Winter Natalia Mateo, a talented actress murdered on an expensive set by a man described by the press as “Das Phantom.” Gereon and Charlotte desperately try to fight the Nazis within the ranks of the police department itself, some of whom are responsible for the sinister murder at the shocking conclusion of season two. As Gereon tries to bring all murders to justice, his love life continuously falls apart, and his sanity slips away.

Much like Gereon’s internal mood, the city itself is leaning closer and closer to complete insanity: All these plot threads come to fruition in an explosive season finale, culminating in the stock market

crash of 1929.

One of the greatest aspects of the show is the world itself. The world of “Babylon Berlin” is exceptional in embodying the plethora of contradictions of Weimar Berlin. We see the opulence of the rich combined with the misery of the poor, Nazi boy scouts and genderqueer clubs, vast improvements in technology coupled with blatant racism and sexism. Season three richly expands the multiplicitous world of Berlin beyond the confines of seasons one and two. Characters who served minor roles in previous seasons are finally given the depth and time they deserve.

The show masterfully balances these new wild contradictions. In one moment, we empathize with a gay character struggling to navigate a hostile world. In the next moment, we see young, disenfranchised boys get enthralled by the community that Nazism provides.

In all, the creators show that this time period is not dissimilar to our own. With the rise of radicalism and authoritarianism in the west, “Babylon Berlin” is a refreshingly relevant historical retelling. Since we know what will happen to Germany in the near future of the show, it’s a not-so-subtle warning that modern society is on the same path to make the same mistakes.

The rampant rise of radicalism as a solution to the chaos of modern democracy is a consistent motif in this world. “Good police officers don’t take sides,” Gereon tells his nemesis in the final moments of the season. Season three of “Babylon Berlin” is the most explosive season to date. Not only is it absolutely thrilling, but the world of “Babylon Berlin” itself stands as a dire warning about society, for Germany and the United States.

SETTLER

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

COMMUNITY CULTURE COLUMN

Revived ‘West Side Story’ puts new spin on ’50s classic SAMMY SUSSMAN

Daily Community Culture Columnist

Is it possible to revive a staple of the Broadway repertoire while staying true to the original production? And if not, should revivals instead strive to forge new ground? Is there a point at which a revival is too groundbreaking to be a revival, at which the revival must be understood as an entirely new creative product?

Over the past month, reviews of the current Broadway revival of “West Side Story” have fractured along these lines. Some have questioned the video projections, atypical staging and musical omissions that form much of this new work; others have spoken of the story’s revitalization thanks to these new creative decisions.

The recent production has also faced controversy over the casting of Amar Ramasar, who was removed and reinstated at the New York City Ballet over allegations of sexual misconduct. Protesters had been outside the theater during early performances of the work, which opened on Feb. 6. I saw no protesters at a performance that I attended this past Saturday.

This was not the first revival in recent years to take great liberties in reinterpreting a previous classic. 2019 saw a critically successful revival of “Oklahoma!,” a revival also dependent on limited scenery, wildly different orchestrations and live video projection.

Yet in the “West Side Story” revival, I couldn’t help but feel that the projections and set design distracted from the Romeo and Juliet aspect of the story. The fantastical choreography that constituted much of the violence in the movie was instead presented literally and graphically magnified by the projections.

The different openings to these two versions of the show highlight the basic premises that have changed. In the movie, the battle between the Jets and the Sharks takes place against a light musical backdrop — the famous snapping at the beginning of the movie turning into precise underscoring, specific musical hits timed to match with the opening and closing of fists in an unbelievable, overly-choreographed manner.

In this revival, the Jets and Sharks stand motionless at the front of the stage throughout the opening number. The only thing that moves is the camera, as the barely suppressed rage of the Jets and Sharks is projected on the back

wall at fifty-foot dimensions. There was nothing light or remotely unbelievable about this scene.

This is not to say that director Ivan van Hove hasn’t added much to the audience’s understanding of the story. And this is not to say that the original “West Side Story” was not problematic in its own right.

The movie’s casting of Latinx characters, for example, is frequently cited as an example of exactly what was wrong with 20th-century Hollywood. And questions over the show’s reliance on racial and gender stereotypes have long surrounded critical commentary on the work.

But despite its controversies, the original “West Side Story” aspires to be little more than a 20th-century “Romeo and Juliet.” It is a fragile love story in the midst of a race-defined feud, a story of a beautiful love-turned-tragedy.

However, as I watched the revival, I couldn’t help but question whether this fundamental premise had been altered. Van Hove has spoken about how this revival was meant to reflect our current cultural and political divisions, to draw out the conflicts that have always existed under the work’s surface.

Van Hove reaches for such large concepts — police brutality, sexual violence, racial conflict — that it feels as though Tony and Maria’s demise is merely a side story. I entered the theater knowing that (spoiler alert) they were going to fall in love and Tony was going to be killed. There was no suspension of disbelief, no suggestion that perhaps Tony and Maria might elope unscathed.

When asked about the show’s originality, Scott Rudin, one of the show’s producers, said Van Hove “doesn’t direct revivals like they’re revivals. Because to him, they’re not... They’re brand-new to him.” And this led me back to my original question about originality. At what point could this no longer be considered a revival?

Could it ever be understood as something new, a new work of theater based on source material called “West Side Story”?

It’s not as though the creativity of the work’s creators hasn’t already come under question.

Many classical music aficionados have spoken of the resemblance between Bernstein’s “Somewhere” and the second movement of Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 5” (the “Emperor” concerto) and/or Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake.”

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Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Thursday, March 12, 2020 — 7

First Pitch 2020

BAKICH’S ACES How Bakich built a pipeline from Chicago’s ACE program to ‘M’

JACOB COHEN

Daily Sports Writer

Michigan baseball players are not allowed to enter the locker room until they have all earned the right to do so.

Bakich created a months-long process of earning entry via hard work in the practice facility, classroom and community to fight back against entitlement — a sentiment he thinks is the root of the problem with many young players.

It’s a rule emblematic of Michigan’s hard-nosed attitude, something Bakich has aimed to make synonymous with his program Among his other mechanisms of doing so? Recruiting from the Chicago White Sox ACE Program. *** Thirteen years ago, White Sox ACE Program founders Kenny Fullman and Nathan Durst sat down to solve a problem.

The pair watched as talented players like Elliot Armstrong from the urban Chicago area were under-recruited, not receiving the press or attention from college coaches that Fullman and Durst felt they deserved. There must have been some sort of failure in the process.

It’s no secret that baseball’s history is marred with access problems. One need not look further than the existence of the Negro Leagues to view the problem rear its ugly head.

Baseball’s access problems, though, still persist today, 73 years after Jackie Robinson tore through baseball’s color barrier.

They persist in the bank-breaking experience that is travel baseball. They persist in the price of the numerous showcases high-school age players attend to gain exposure. They persist in the lack of effort some college coaches make to recruit inner-city athletes.

In other words, the playing field of youth baseball is anything but level. That’s where programs like those created by Fullman and Durst come in.

The White Sox ACE Program provides inner-city 12 to 17-year olds with the opportunity to play high-caliber, competitive baseball against teams from throughout the country in order to put themselves in front of college coaches, and Fullman and Durst are its directors.

Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago White Sox ensures that Chicago White Sox Charities (CWSC) foot the bill for the kids to play in the program. CSWC covers the cost of uniforms, practice time, coaches and tournaments for the players, leaving only travel and lodging up to the players’ families.

“We were wondering why a lot of our kids from our community, from the innercity, urban Chicago area were not getting any press or exposure,” Fullman said.

“And we thought that was something that they needed, so we sat down and wrote things that we thought we might need to do in order for them to go to some of the schools of their choices.”

On the field, those things consisted largely of developing the fundamentals of athletic, skilled baseball players who played exceptionally but lacked the technical soundness often curated through years of private lessons in more affluent areas. But the services provided to Chicago-area kids by the White Sox ACE Program stretch far beyond the friendly confines of a baseball field. *** At first glance, it may be hard to imagine how life lessons relate to baseball, but redshirt freshman catcher and ACE

Program alumnus Jordan Rogers argues that lessons of how to shake hands and look a man in his eyes were paramount to making a positive impression on Michigan coach Erik Bakich, a coach who focuses on developing his players as men as well as baseball players.

Rogers is one of three Wolverines that hails from the ACE Program, along with senior outfielder Christan Bullock and junior left-hander Angelo Smith, a statistic that makes the ACE Program the most represented development program on Michigan’s roster and shows the effectiveness of the life lessons it teaches.

“It was a lot more than baseball,” Rogers said. “Being from the inner city, they just teach you the basic things about becoming a man. How to be on your own, how to talk, shake hands, look a man into his eyes.

All of that stuff. Those are life lessons that you take on forever.”

At first glance, it may be hard to imagine how these life lessons relate to baseball, but Rogers argues that lessons like how to shake hands and look a man into his eyes were paramount to making a positive impression on Michigan coach Erik Bakich, a coach who focuses on developing his players as men as well as baseball players.

In combination with excellent tutoring services and the strength, conditioning and technical coaching that the program provides, these life lessons have helped to ameliorate a problem potentially bigger than the monetary barriers to accessing baseball — the lack of inner-city baseball players playing for Division I programs.

“One thing about coaching urban, inner-city kids, especially minority kids — you have to be better than everybody else,” Fullman said. “You have to work harder than everybody else to attract the attention of these college coaches. … And you have to have something that you do that’s better than everyone else so that you can be seen, so that you have the opportunity to play at the next level.”

The ACE Program created an environment that supports players’ quests to be a better player. It teaches players how to channel their hard work in an effective manner.

All that the directors of the program want college coaches to do in response is come see the program’s players for themselves.

And that is exactly what Bakich has done.

“It was crazy,” Bullock said of the first time Michigan coach Erik Bakich came to see him play. “Not a lot of people had come to the inner-city of Chicago.”

But the Wolverines have made recruiting in inner cities a priority in order to diversify their roster and give as many kids opportunities as they can.

“There’s a lot of great athletes out there, and I think it’s ridiculous the cost of travel ball and some of the showcases. It negates opportunities for a lot of kids. For us, we want to have a diverse roster and want to provide as many opportunities for kids all over the country that we can.”

It is obvious that diversity is an important goal, especially in the context of a game in which there have been so many barriers to attaining it. However, people often lose sight of the reasons why, and thus ignore the sources of its value.

“Different backgrounds, different experiences,” Smith said. “I think it helps team culture and things like that. I think it helps us not relate to each other, but build relationships. Guys from California and guys from Chicago basically learn the story of each other and grow from that.”

This pipeline from inner-city Chicago to Ann Arbor exists in context of a much larger effort by Bakich — the same effort that received national attention when he said, “We just think our roster should look like the United States of America,” on an ESPN broadcast of a College World Series game last year.

Bakich’s commitment to creating an intersectionally-diverse roster shows itself in the roster’s make-up alone. But there is something significant about Bakich’s words that exists between the lines.

As the coach of a northern baseball program, particularly one that exists alongside the behemoth that is Michigan football, Bakich presides over a team that often lies in the shadows.

For a month last year, the Wolverines’ success in the CWS vaulted them into the light, and Bakich used this unique opportunity to add power to a statement about diversity.

He used it to tell every baseballobsessed, college-hopeful ballplayer perched in front of a TV to watch the Wolverines take on Florida State that if they have the talent to compete at Michigan, he wants to give them the opportunity — no matter what their surroundings look like.

So, if Bakich looks to every area across the United States to find players to fill his 36-man roster, one question remains: How did players from one program in innercity Chicago manage to fill almost a tenth of those spots in the first place?

“Coach Bakich is trying to win, and he’s looking for great players,” Fullman said.

“He’s looking for baseball players, and we have good baseball players within our program.”

More than just that, though, the ACE Program produces the exact type of player that succeeds in Michigan’s team culture.

While both programs place a strong emphasis on creating a family atmosphere, they also both reject entitlement and emphasize earning your opportunities.

This becomes a valuable link almost immediately after a player moves to campus.

“It benefitted me a lot,” Rogers said of the hardworking nature of the ACE Program. “Because I had a general guideline of what I had to do, how the work was going to be. Obviously, the work is different, I would be lying if I told you it wasn’t, but you just have a general idea of what to expect and how things are done.”

Smith and Bullock echoed this sentiment, a consistency that shows why Bakich has taken such a liking to the ACE Program. The gap between prep baseball to the collegiate level can be drastic, but ACE Program products come ready to do the hard work necessary to make the leap.

The fact that Michigan currently has three more ACE Program players — Tre Hondras, Tyler Fullman and Dillon Head — verbally committed to the team signifies that Bakich has recognized that preparedness and sees value in it.

While 13 years has not been quite enough time for Fullman and Durst to completely solve the problem they set out to fix, the pipeline that has sprung up between the ACE Program and Michigan is encouraging progress, and it is clear that the Wolverines are happy to be part of the solution.

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Sports

8 — Thursday, March 12, 2020

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

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ALL ‘M’ SPORTING EVENTS, INCLUDING NCAA TOURNAMENT, TO BE PLAYED WITHOUT FANS AS COVID-19 SPREADS

EVAN AARON/DAILY

Michigan sporting events, NCAA Tournament to be played without fans ETHAN SEARS

Managing Sports Editor

THEO MACKIE

Managing Sports Editor

As part of its action to combat the spread of COVID-19, the University announced Wednesday that it will be canceling all events on campus convening over 100 people through April 21.

Per an official athletic department release, the ban

extends to all U-M home athletic competitions. Those competitions will “be played as scheduled with only student-athletes, coaches, officials, essential personnel and a limit of two family members per participant in attendance,” according to the release.

“This is a rapidly evolving situation,” the release said.

“U-M officials and medical experts, in close coordination with the state and local public health departments, are closely

monitoring for developments and will offer additional guidance and messaging as soon as it is available.”

In addition to games, the Michigan football team’s annual open spring practice and the annual Big House 5K have both been cancelled. The status of the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships, scheduled for April 17-18, and the CWPA Championships, scheduled for April 24-26, are both uncertain.

Due to the Ivy League cancelling all athletic events for the rest of the school year, additional affected events include the rowing team’s meet vs.

Harvard and Yale on March 28 as well as the water polo team’s games against Princeton on March 28, Brown on March 29, Brown on March 4, Harvard on April 5 and Princeton on April 10.

However, practices for all in-season Michigan teams will take place as scheduled with only

essential personnel. Essential travel will be “addressed on a case-by-case basis,” per the release, though that does not extend to off-campus recruiting trips, which will be halted until at least April 21.

Fans who held single-game tickets will be refunded by the University ticket office, while season ticket holders will be partially refunded.

Additionally, this weekend’s Big Ten Men’s Basketball

Tournament will be played without fans starting on March 12, contrary to previous plans that it would go ahead with fans. The NCAA Tournament will also be played without fans, starting as previously planned on March 17.

Michigan hockey’s Big Ten semifinal game in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday will also be played without spectators, after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced an order that no fans will be allowed at games in the state.

Big Ten Tournament to be played Hockey team preparing for empty without fans, locker rooms closed arenas ahead of Big Ten semi-finals JACOB KOPNICK Daily Sports Editor

DANIEL DASH

Daily Sports Writer

This season’s Big Ten Tournament, taking place this week in Indianapolis, will be played with no fans. Rows of empty seats will greet this year’s conference teams in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.

In addition, reporters will not be allowed to enter team locker rooms following games at this week’s Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, according to a statement from the Big Ten Conference. The statement, released Wednesday afternoon, confirmed that the tournament will “continue to be held as scheduled,” though postgame media availabilities will be held in a larger space in an attempt to avoid the close confines of locker rooms and fans will not be permitted to enter the facility.

The news comes amid a flurry of action in response to COVID-19 — the virus just recently classified as a global pandemic by the World

Health Organization.

Instead of locker room availabilities, postgame interviews will be held on the practice court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Following the game, coaches and players will be given a 10-minute “cooling-off period” in their locker room, during which they can decide to forego, use only a portion of the allotted time or remain in the locker room. Following the cooling-off period, each team is required to complete 20 minutes of media availability.

On a global scale, sporting events across the world have been either cancelled or played without fans due to the virus and the ensuing wave of alterations that has hit the U.S. The Big West and MAC announced Tuesday that their conference tournaments would be played with no fans.

The Big Ten has stated that the conference tournament will continue but will be played without fans and restricted media access to locker rooms at this time. The Ivy League canceled its tournament outright, along with spring sports.

“Our health is the most

important thing,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said Tuesday, “so we will sit down with our medical staff and see what’s the best way to move forward while preparing and preventing them from getting sick.”

The response to this disease is changing by the hour and the fate of the larger NCAA Tournament remains unclear.

In attempts to quell the spread of the virus, experts suggest washing your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, avoid touching your face and avoid close contact with people who are sick. In the case of players at this week’s Big Ten Tournament, similar personto-person adaptations will be made.

“I’m definitely going to keep my distance, not just fans but from a lot of people as far as the touching process,” senior point guard Zavier Simpson said. “I’m not sure who has it or anything. Just to be on the safe side, just wash my hands more frequently. Hopefully fans don’t take it as a negative if I happen to give them a fist instead of a highfive.”

THE DAILY HOCKEY BEAT Daily Sports Writers

Michigan’s Big Ten Tournament semifinal game on Sunday against Ohio State at Nationwide Arena in Columbus will be held without fans in a precautionary measure to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to announce an order limiting spectators at all sporting events in the state within the next 24-36 hours, which includes the Wolverines’ game on Sunday. This move adds force to DeWine’s recommendation from Tuesday that large gatherings be limited or eliminated.

The Big Ten also released a statement Wednesday evening announcing they’ll be limiting attendance at all remaining conference competitions.

“Yeah, it’s worrisome,” senior forward Will Lockwood said. “I don’t want our season to come to an end. I really hope it doesn’t. I hope it doesn’t get

to that point. Obviously there’s a reason they’re doing it, there’s a reason they’re taking precautions.”

As teams around the country are suspending their seasons — Harvard and Yale have both pulled out of their ECAC Tournament quarterfinal series, ending their seasons — Michigan is faced with a great deal of uncertainty. At this point, it’s unclear what’s going to happen in the coming days — as this story was written, the NBA went from playing games on Wednesday night to the season being suspended indefinitely.

It’s a rapidly developing situation, but as of Wednesday night, the Big Ten hockey tournament is set to go ahead, though all remaining games will be played without fans.

“I hope we get to play,” Michigan coach Mel Pearson said. “That’s all I wish.

It doesn’t matter if it’s in Nationwide in front of nobody or it’s full. We’re on a mission.

We’re going somewhere. They

just happen to be our next opponent. Like I said, doesn’t matter if we have to create our own atmosphere and intensity, we can do that.”

As for playing in a completely empty arena, the Wolverines are looking at it as a positive.

They may have to create their own energy, but the arena also won’t be filled with opposing fans.

“I honestly think it works to our advantage a little bit,” Lockwood said. “They won’t be able to have a home crowd advantage and have their fans there, not that it’s really impacted us. We’ve been pretty good on the road this year, but it’s something we can’t really focus on too much.”

Added Pearson: “We know it’s a huge challenge, but it’s a great opportunity for us and that’s how we’re approaching it. There’s so many things you can’t control. … We’re just focusing on being ready and being able to control our own destiny. That’s all you can ask for in sports.”